Truth
by Twilight Zephyr
Summary: Watching things was what he did best; whether it was watching those around him dreams falling apart, or getting lost in the inexorable tangle of emotions. Jascob, slash
1. dreams shatter & emotions entwine

**A/N:** I don't exactly know what happened as I wrote this, but I had planned it as a one-shot at first; but it somehow morphed itself into being a three-shot. So here you go, you all get three parts of Jasper/Jacob goodness. This is actually one of my favorite ships, but the fiction out there for it is incredibly sparse; it makes me really sad. If I can, I'd love to write more for it, but that will have to wait until the summer. I'm extremely busy as it is; I'm hoping to finish this story up before the weekend because I have a lot of stuff to do that should be taking priority over this, but I'm letting my creativity take over instead.  
**Title:** Truth  
**Part:** 1/3  
**Part Title:** watching dreams shatter and emotions entwine  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Jasper/Jacob  
**Words:** 3 802 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, and are in no way mine. They're just fun to use in my strange ideas because, apparently, that's what my lovely little ideas love to use them for.

**. watching dreams shatter and emotions entwine .**

Watching things was what he did best.

Unlike his brothers, he preferred quiet action to just using muscle to solve a problem; he preferred quiet words and actions to resolve a situation or problem. That was just how he worked. He preferred the more peaceful way of doing things; that was just how he was.

It was never fun, being empathic, because it meant that you could never be sure of your emotions unless you were completely and utterly alone. Other people's emotions became your own, and you couldn't tell which emotions were theirs and which ones were your own. That was what made him such an agreeable person; because he always knew what to say or what to do, being able to sense emotions was what made that easier. He was the peacekeeper, always on the sidelines, never taking part in the conflict.

But now, now he was facing a crisis.

Things were falling apart around him; watching his family being torn apart over the issue of one human's mortality.

She was tearing their family apart at the seams; that was Bella Swan's curse.

Alice's visions showed her what was to come, and she'd acted on them. Partly. Confronting Carlisle about the unavoidable trial that was speeding towards them, they'd been forced to change her before she was ready. And now, that was hurting their family.

His head constantly hurt; he knew that vampires, technically in all senses of the word, couldn't feel pain, but it still did hurt. All the emotions swirling through him, thick and potent, were giving him headaches and confusing him even more; he didn't know what he felt anymore, what he believed. He was becoming nothing more then a radio that broadcast others emotions.

Rosalie was eternally guilty; she felt that everything that had caused this inexorable spiral down into the hell that Bella was going through now. She blamed herself. He felt that. Emmett felt horrible that Rosalie felt that way and his woes were added onto Jasper's. He felt that too.

Alice was… conflicted. She felt that she'd done the right thing, yet she felt guilty and depressed that she had had to do what she did. Her feelings were that she had betrayed her best, closest friend; her sister. Whenever he was around her, his heart would twist painfully in his chest and the feelings would completely overwhelm him. He felt the need to retreat into a corner and curl into a ball; that was how Alice felt.

Esme and Carlisle, their pain was for what had been taken from Bella. And he felt that too. It wasn't as intense as the others; but still, he felt it and it became part of him too. They pitied Bella for having become like them without having had the chance to tell everyone goodbye; that she loved them. So now, he pitied her as well.

Then there was Edward. His emotions were wreaking havoc; he felt angry, jealous, sad. They swirled around, changing constantly every moment so fast that Jasper thought his head might implode. The sorrow that Edward felt was like a black hole, dragging him in; and he'd spiral down and down and down until he couldn't remember anything but the blackness of the sorrow. It was like drowning in it, leaving nothing behind of himself but once was' and has beens. How Edward felt was nearly unimaginable.

Finally, there was Bella herself. What she felt, what she was going through; was tearing Jasper apart. It was like being torn apart from the seams, all of her emotions clashed together. Her anger and anguish at hurting those she cared about because now she couldn't give them all proper goodbyes; the suffering that Bella went through, knowing the irreparable damage that she had caused to her best friend and the one who would have been her soul mate in a _**normal**_ world. A world where vampires and werewolves didn't exist. The range of horribly negative emotions that flooded through Bella made Jasper almost wish that he could die; that he could cry. But he couldn't do either; and it was tearing him apart.

Just like it was tearing their family apart.

Bella's mortality had always been a rather… sensitive subject in their family. Her sudden change to being one of them was ripping the family apart at the seams; it was only a matter of time until they parted ways.

Jasper knew what he would do, while he knew that everyone else would leave.

Even Alice.

It was his gift; his curse, to forever feel the shadows of others emotions.

To never truly know what his own emotions were.

And maybe that was why he was finding himself distant from Alice; like he didn't really know her. That they were strangers caught up in a play of romance where the chemistry wasn't quite right and things refused to work out in their favor.

So that was why, there were holes in their love; holes that, while at first weren't visible, once torn wide open were impossible to miss. Now there was no denying that their love was imperfect; fragmented. It just was not meant to be.

Jasper had run, fleeing from the twisted and unseen battlefield that was his family. Now it was inevitable that their family would drift apart; and he knew that he would stay. There was nothing left for him with them; all he could do was remain here and hope that he could someday find enough of the scattered pieces and slowly put himself back together again around someone. It was the only way that he could call himself 'whole' again; well, as whole as an undead vampire can be.

The cliffs seemed to be the perfect place for him, desolate and lonely; they looked out over the ocean as it raged below, bearing witness to its constantly changing moods. Jasper welcomed the crashes of waves, the peace that being here, alone, offered him. He could almost feel his own emotions now.

If he knew where they were.

Closing his dull-gold eyes, he let himself fall onto the grassy ground. Lying there flat on his back, arms spread, he let the sea air wash over him as he let all of the feelings of others flood out of him in a bitter torment. When they were gone, and he was sure that it was just himself in his mind, it was… empty.

Desolate.

Jasper couldn't feel anything; it was as if the ability to feel had been drained out of him from the constant turmoil that he'd been dragged through for so long.

No matter how hard he tried, Jasper couldn't find anything; nothing about how he really felt about anything. His purpose for existing… well he was finding out that it had never really been that even; he was still looking.

So where could it be? Where was he supposed to go to start looking?

He had no idea. A little help would be appreciated here.

But for now, he could wait; he could wait a little longer. It was, after all, only a matter of time until it stumbled to him.

He just didn't know how bang on that would be.

**.:-o-:.**

What was it he was feeling? It was like his heart had been ripped from his chest, leaving behind a gaping hole that refused to heal. Refusing to close, his being was bleeding from where his heart had once been; he had given himself over to his instincts.

Jacob Black didn't think that he'd ever be able to return to himself; he'd given himself over so fully to his werewolf instincts that he wasn't sure of who he was anymore.

But the pain was still there; refusing to ebb or go away. It was the only thing that made him remember that he had been human; that he was human, that he was only borrowing the form of a wolf for the moment. That he would have to return to that form eventually.

His thoughts were turmoil; and he couldn't focus on them. His emotions ripped through him one after the other, leaving wounds that refused to close and just left him bleeding more; he wondered whether or not he'd just bleed to death eventually from them.

All he wanted was for the pain to stop.

He wanted to heal.

To find some way for him to piece himself back together again.

Maybe… maybe that was what he could do for Bella. He could do her some good, and let her go; he could heal for her, find someone else, maybe then, and only then, could he put everything back into place and go back to who he'd been once upon a time before he'd met Bella Swan.

Before he'd fallen in love with her.

Unconsciously his body drifted to the cliffs. He wandered along them aimlessly, still in wolf form. But then, an almost… familiar smell reached him.

Yes, he knew that smell.

But where did he recognize it from?

Oh, that was right; all those nights before, it seemed like forever ago that he'd last inhaled that smell. It was something sweet; sweet and fragrant, like the sweetest most desirable perfume. It was a scent that man could never recreate.

Following it along the cliffs, it grew stronger; more potent. He could feel himself being drawn in.

He reached where the scent was at its pinnacle; lying on the ground, was one of the leeches. Jacob would've normally stopped dead in his tracks, retreated, or attacked; but he wasn't in his right mind at that moment.

Besides, that smell was just so alluring, so… _**tempting**_.

And now, it was entirely obvious as to where it was coming from. He wondered for a few moments; had he imprinted? But no, he would have figured it out if he had imprinted, it wouldn't just be manifesting itself now; this had to be, well, it just had to be something else.

Was it just physical attraction? Because that would be understandable; as much as Jacob hated to admit it, all of the Cullens were beautiful, well, beyond beautiful. They were like perfection incarnate; no one could ever hope to surpass the beauty that each of them possessed. But to Jacob, only that one, the one lying in the grass, could ever be a Greek god to him.

Odd, that's what it was, how Jacob's feelings seemed to sort themselves right out the moment that he entered the blond vampire's presence. Because now that he was close enough, almost close enough to touch, everything was falling into place.

Was that part of that leech's gift? All he knew was what Bella had told him, something about how he could manipulate the emotions of those around him. But something whispered in his ear that that wasn't all he could do. After all, to be able to do that... he'd have to to have empathic abilities.

That meant that, out of everyone, he was probably the only one who could fully understand him. His brothers could only see his memories and feelings; but they didn't understand them, they couldn't feel them. In that respect, he was on his own. But now... now there was the chance that he could have someone who would understand; who could understand. Who could understand everything.

And now, with his feelings presented to him in such perfect clarity, he could see precisely everything that he wanted, what he needed. And right now...

He wanted that god damn, bloody leech.

Trotting up, he noticed that the lavender eyelids didn't even twitch as he approached, but his lips moved as he spoke in the lightest of whispers, "So you did come back."

Jacob gave a tiny whine; after all, you couldn't speak English when you were a werewolf, but there were waves of something coming off him, and he could tell that the other man could feel them. Each and every single emotion that surged through him.

"... you don't have to be nervous. I won't hurt you."

Slowly, Jacob came closer; it wasn't fear of what Jasper that was making him nervous about approaching the vampire, it was this niggling fear of being rejected. He knew that the other could feel it; as prominent as it was in his emotions. It was scary, almost, how important the vampire had become to him in such a short period of time. Or maybe it was because he was just piecing together how he felt now instead of having done so back when his first encounters had occurred with the exquisite blond; he'd been so conflicted back then and preoccupied with Bella that he hadn't stopped to think of anything else really.

That was it; that was what had kept him from realizing where his soul mate in this strange and twisted world was. He'd been so fixated on what he would have had in a normal world (and who wanted a normal world when one could be with someone so unnaturally perfect and handsome?), that he'd failed to realize what the world of the supernatural had gifted to him. And oh how he wanted it.

He hadn't realized that he'd closed his eyes, he hadn't realized that he'd phased back. That was until he felt icy hands on him; gently, almost timidly tracing his face. His dark brown eyes shot open and he looked into the dull gold that looked back at him. How could he once have found this stunning creature loathing? Shuddering away from them and hating them? He didn't know anymore, right now he found himself living in the moment; nothing else mattered.

It didn't matter that he was completely naked and pressed up against another man; a dead man for that matter and his mortal enemy. All that did matter to him right then was how right everything felt; how everything just seemed to click together and seem perfect right then in that moment. It was unlike how things had been with Bella; with her, there always seemed to be words that needed to be said, but here, now, in this vampire's arms; nothing needed to be said. They understood and knew each other on a level that was so deep that their very souls seemed to be nothing more then an extension of the other.

Jasper had never felt so alive; never before with his time with Alice, or with Marie. Even the dim memories from his time as a human couldn't compare to how alive and whole he felt at that moment. If his heart could still beat, he knew that it would be thudding loudly in his chest.

Even with Alice, he'd always felt like something was missing; that something wasn't quite right. It was like there was a missing piece of the puzzle that he could never find; no matter how hard he looked. But this, this was very much it. In all its exquisite perfection he'd found what he'd been looking for all these years; it had paid off, his searching and endless waiting. He'd found that missing part of himself.

And the emotions! The feelings! They seemed to swell up inside him now; and it didn't matter that they might be Jacob's or that they might be his. It remained a fact that he now knew precisely how he felt and what he wanted; his feelings were now his own.

Jasper Hale had finally found his other half.

Liquid chocolate met deep gold, and everything fell into place for them. The perfect clarity of their own unique feelings for each other washed over them; even Jacob, though he wasn't too far from being empathic, could feel the waves of happiness, joy, love, passion, belonging, and so much more coming off the vampire who held him. Perfection rang out in every fiber of their beings.

Jasper leaned in a little closer; his face now barely a hair away from Jacob's. The way he hesitated was to extend the moment of exhilaration; the moment of suspense before icy lips would meet burning ones. In the way that they looked at each other, you would feel like you were intruding on the most private of private moments; that this was something outsiders were not ever meant to see.

Almost painstakingly slowly, Jasper moved in and brushed his lips once, twice over Jacob's before claiming them in a more forceful and passionate kiss. Jacob responded with equal fervor, pressing his nude form up against the vampire; not caring the least about the cold, rock-hard body that it was. His arms came around the others neck, hands tangling in the blond strands as he pulled Jasper down onto himself further; Jasper complied, leaning in and using his grip on the other's hips to bring them together until their bodies were flush against each other. Had both been naked, you would have troubles guessing where one began and the other ended.

Jacob didn't care that his lungs burned for air, or the frigid feel of the body that he moved against. All he could feel was how right this all felt to him; he could care less about what others would think, what his pack brothers would think. This was all worth it.

No one else could ever make him feel like this.

Not in this world where werewolves and vampires stalked the earth; hunting each other for all eternity.

And yet, here they were; mortal enemies locked in a passionate embrace and tasting each other with such a fierce drive that you would never suspect them to be.

For Jacob, this was everything that he would need; everything that he could ever want.

He'd found precisely what he needed and wanted to rebuild the shattered heart that Bella had left in her wake. And deep down, he knew that this was what he'd always wanted; some part of him had subconsciously known this before the rest of him had. And now, he was never letting it go. Jasper was his rock, his anchor, his love, his everything.

Nothing would change that.

Nothing.

And as for Jasper? He could live with being forced to watch others dreams crash down around him; feeling their emotions as they did so, as their emotions entwined with his to such a point where he couldn't tell which were which anymore. Because now, he'd found what he needed. As long as Jacob stood at his side; he knew that he'd be fine, that he would survive. Even if their story turned into Romeo and Juliet, because that was essentially what it was; he just prayed that it would never end in tragedy. He couldn't bear to lose Jacob; his Jacob.

That would leave him even farther back then square one.

To each other, they were everything.

**.:-o-:.**

Being as preoccupied as they were with each other, both had failed to notice the audience that had gathered just in the shadows of the trees. The werewolves were shocked; but more then that, they felt betrayed and angry.

How dare their pack brother even dare to kiss one of them?

There would be blood to pay for this; and they knew just whose blood would be spilled for this betrayal. After all, the bloodsucker could manipulate emotions, it would be entirely to easy for him, they thought, to manipulate Jacob into believing that he felt something for the leech.

Leah felt her stomach heave, and she launched herself at them; completely ignoring Sam and barreling down at the two. All she felt was anger and betrayal; her heart felt like it had been ripped out of her chest.

She'd loved Jacob.

Just like she'd loved Sam.

And now, she was losing him just like she'd lost Sam.

She wouldn't allow it.

Jacob was supposed to be hers.

Not that leech's!

The other werewolves noticed the jerk that the leech suffered the moment that Leah had emerged and launched herself at the two; shifting into her werewolf form and letting her emotions take her.

His entire body seemed to seize up and his eyes opened wide for a moment; the difference in emotions that he'd been feeling flow through him changing so abruptly and to such an alarming degree that he couldn't focus on anything. Jasper's body spasmed once.

And now, with a werewolf bounding down at them, he knew he had to act. But he couldn't; the pain had immobilized him.

It was Jacob who surprised him; growling before he two phased in an explosion of fur, claws and teeth. He faced down his only pack sister, growling viciously at her as he moved between her and her target.

_'Don't you dare Leah!'_

His thoughts roared around her; sending her stumbling to the ground where she slammed into it with a loud slam. Her head spun from the force of the emotions that Jacob was forcing into her the moment that he'd phased as well; she couldn't fight back! She couldn't!

Leah's wolf form shuddered and twisted on the ground for a moment before a very nude young teenager emerged from it. Jacob stared down at her with his wolf eyes; daring her to get up and even attempt to make a move on the vampire that he held so precious. When their eyes met, there were tears in Leah's eyes.

"Why...? How could you do this to me?! To us?! You betray the one that you express to love more then anything so easily?!" Her voice broke several times; reaching octaves that hurt all who were present's ears. "You'd betray everything that you are, what we are, for this... this... this creature?! This brute who has probably taken human lives?!"

Jacob watched her; feelings his own emotions running wild. A bitterly cold hand settled onto his shoulder, running through the fur in a comforting gesture; he tilted his head to see Jasper looking at Leah with lidded, clouded eyes. Pain lashed across them as her emotions shot through him; searing into him as if they were his own, which, in a way, they were.

"What would she think of you?! Lowering yourself to the status of a common slut?! A prostitute! That's what you are! You're nothing more then a slut! You'd betray your kind to the enemy; give yourself to them like a common whore for nothing more then one cheap night of thrills! For a single kiss that you could get from anyone!"

Jasper's voice was like ice when he spoke, "Do not pretend... that you know what everyone feels. Make decisions for yourself." He walked into the forest; in the opposite direction of where the wolves were, stopping at the edge of the trees. When he spoke, it was no more then a whisper, but they could all hear it. "You can choose if you want to come with me or not, Jacob. This is your choice, not mine."

Several long seconds dragged by.

The vampire feared rejection; but his fears were for not. A snout bumped against his hand. He smiled down at the werewolf as he ran his hand through the fur and scratched the ears. His smile was genuine, for the first time in a long time, he actually smiled. "Thank you."

And that was all that needed to be said.

Because they would know, always, that they didn't need to say how they truly felt.

They already knew it.

**.:-o-:.**

There's a second part on its way; but I'd really like some reviews on this telling me what you all thought. I've noticed that the twilightslash community has gotten really inactive lately, and I'm wondering that's because of the end of the school year thing. I sure hope so; I'd hate to see a community as fabulous as that one die. I absolutely love it.

This is funny; I was recently asked, while writing this story, why I write so much non-canon fan fiction. In fact, they asked if I'd ever written canon before; I have, just not in this fandom, which was the one we were talking about. So I have been challenged to write something canon; and I have decided to write something that is Rosalie/Emmett seeing as there is too much of the other pairings.

By the way... I'm thinking of starting up a Jasper/Jacob community or a Jasper/Edward one; would anyone be interested in joining?

Twilight.


	2. walk the dark path, sleep with angels

**A/N:** Yeah, this is the long-awaited second part of _Truth_, which continues on from _watching dreams shatter and emotions entwine_. I'm sorry about the horribly long wait, but I got a little lazy and a tad sidetracked. Blame the fact that I've been so focused on finishing _Poison_ lately that I haven't really worked on much else. Anyways, enjoy your Jascob slash!  
**Title:**Truth  
**Part:** 2/3  
**Part Title:** walk the dark path, sleep with angels  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Jasper/Jacob  
**Words:** 2 618 words  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Twilight_ or any of its characters, because if I did, _Breaking Dawn_ wouldn't have been what it was.

**. walk the dark path, sleep with angels .**

Jasper wondered, as he leapt through the wood with a werewolf at his side, if anyone in his family would notice if he just... disappeared. If he didn't come back, if he just ran and kept on running until he couldn't run anymore. Only stopping when he finally felt at peace, when he finally felt that he could be himself. Would it be so hard? He finally decided that he didn't really care, not at this moment at least.

And anyways, he doesn't want Jacob there, or anywhere near his family. Bella still isn't even close to being stable enough to be around anyone with a pulse, and he won't risk Jacob like that. Not the other half of his existence. So he angles away from his home, away from Forks, from what he's known for so long.

Jacob follows him, of course, but with a small whine; Jasper stops fluidly, understanding dawning.

"You go back, I'll wait here." Another whine, combined with the feeling of longing. Jasper paused, trying to sift through the ramifications of what Jacob was asking for. "You want me to come with you." The wolf nodded, even though both of them recognized that had been a statement and not a question.

He sighed, but decided he'd give in. They were on the border right now, near Forks; Jacob gave a wolfish grin and took off through the woods, looping around to the Swan residence where he phased just beyond the outer edges of the backyard. Trying not to think of how much he'd love to pin the young werewolf to the nearest tree and have his wicked way with him, Jasper instead tried to focus on the scents that were drifting to his nose and the emotions that were swirling almost tangibly in the air.

Purposely he'd kept his eyes averted from the naked Jacob who was now standing beside him wearing a pair of cut-off shorts. And nothing else. Suddenly he was incredibly glad that he couldn't blush.

Jacob reached out and took Jasper's icy hand in his, squeezing it. Waves of nervousness and fear rolled through him at the contact, and he returned the pressure giving the werewolf a small smile to reassure him. Even if things didn't go... **_right_**, they'd still always have each other. Billy would just have to accept the fact that his son and the vampire were a package deal now.

Carefully, they slipped around to the front of the house. Charlie's cruiser sat unassuming in the driveway; the house didn't look like it had seen one too many myths turned into reality. It looked just like all the typical normal houses you'd see on any street in the suburbs or small towns. The normality... it would have unsettled Jasper on a usual day, but today he pushed it aside in favor of being there for his young love.

The light was on in the front room, it wasn't too late only being the early night. Jacob took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He didn't know how his father would take this; that he was running away, away from the pack, from his father. And with a leech no less. But he knew, that if his father begged, he'd stay; he couldn't just abandon his father like that.

However, abandoning Jasper...

He wasn't going to even go there, just the mere _**thought**_ of the pain made him wince; the fear grew, and a wave of reassurance and love washed over him. Looking at Jasper, he couldn't help but return the small smile that was there. With his heart warmer now, and feeling much more at peace then he had just felt moments ago, the lovers walked up to the door, and knocked.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Billy hadn't expected his son to show up at Charlie's, especially not at this time of night. The treaty had already been amended for the current situation, the Cullens had kept them informed, but Jacob hadn't been there. He'd have heard about it, yes, but Billy hadn't expected to see him back at all.

Oh, but he very nearly had a heart attack when he saw just who his son had in tow.

Jasper Hale.

A vampire.

One of **_them_**.

Charlie was knocked out on the couch, and had been for the past hour. This gave Billy the perfect chance to throw a dirty look at the leech standing beside his son, before demanding, "What are you doing back here?"

"... I came back to say good-bye to Bella," Jacob replied, his voice low.

Billy nodded, "I expected you would. But what is the vampire doing here?"

"I... I ran into Jasper in the woods," Jacob began tentatively. The look that he shared with the vampire spoke volumes, as did their entwined hands; Billy's throat dried up and he felt waves of shock roll through him. His son couldn't have imprinted... not on a vampire, but that was the only explanation. He thought it through more, and things fell into place better. Old myths, old legends; the slightest inkling of this echoed in his thoughts.

"You... you imprinted on him." Jasper was taken aback, was this an imprint? But why would it affect him so strongly if that was so? Sure, his empath abilities could trick him into believing that he was in love, that wouldn't have been a first, but this was the one time that he was completely sure of his feelings; his own emotions.

"What?! If I had, it would have manifested itself a lot sooner!" Jacob snapped. This wasn't imprinting... was it?

"It's not the same as if you imprinted on a _**human**_. And it's not completely imprinting, it's _**marking**_. There's a difference, but they are rather similar." Billy sighed, he had never thought that he would ever have to explain this to any of the pack members, after all, he didn't place any stock in all of those old stories about marking. But now, it was true.

"Marking?" It was the first thing Jasper had said yet, both Black males looked at him.

"Yes, it's different then imprinting." Billy rolled himself onto the porch. "Close the door, I don't want Charlie to hear any of this if he wakes up. It'll cause too many problems and questions that I don't want to answer. This is for your ears only."

The two nodded. Billy rolled himself over to the small plastic table which had lawn chairs grouped around it on the porch, Jacob and Jasper followed; sitting down in two of the chairs, scooting them close enough so that they could hold hands easily. With a sigh, the Quileute elder started.

"Marking and imprinting are two very different things, though their effects are largely similar and they can easily be mistaken for the other. I'll start with imprinting, it's where you," he indicated Jacob, "see the one human who is perfect for you, in other words, your soul mate. Your existence revolves around them, and hurting them or killing them will effect you in the most painful ways, but you'll survive. That's the most crucial difference between marking and imprinting.

"Then there's marking. There are certain times when a person is born, and their, well their being is split in two. Only when the two halves are reunited, are either people whole. Marking **_only_** happens between vampires and werewolves, and is incredibly rare. This is why I haven't spoken of it at all; I didn't believe that it was possible, and I never expected to actually ever happen if it did turn out to be true.

"Marking doesn't happen immediately. It's slower then imprinting, which happens the moment you lay eyes on them. Instead, when you first lay eyes on your other half, you won't realize what they are to you; it takes longer to form, and builds slower. The attachment grows, but at all times, you will be unable to cause them any physical or emotional harm because it will affect you just as strongly as it would affect them. The circumstances vary, but if something happens that's incredibly hard to bear for either one, then it acts as a sort of elastic; and everything snaps into focus. I think the separation brought this on so suddenly."

Silence hung for a few moments before Jacob slowly asked, "Is... that it?"

"There are other myths, but what I told you is just the general explanation of what it is," Billy responded; he really didn't like where this conversation was going, and what it entailed, but if the legends were true... then he'd have to tell them, otherwise they'd be destroyed.

"What else is there?" Jasper asked, his brow furrowing as he tasted the emotions in the air. The trepidation rolling over Billy would have given him goose bumps if he had been human; which he most definitely wasn't. But the emotion did make him very curious.

"Marking is... more complicated then mating is. Unlike imprinting, which drives the wolf to be whatever the one they imprint on needs, marking requires those involved to be... _**intimate**_ with each other. Since those involved are simply two halves of one while, they're bound in the most primal and basic ways. Once the two have come to terms with this, then it's required by the first full moon that they have... consummated this relationship. The details get sketchy from this part out; marked pairs are incredibly secretive when it comes to their relationships. That's the most I know."

Jasper would have blushed at that statement if he could have, instead, his eyes just widened perceptively. On the other hand, Jacob turned a raging shade of bright red and looked away from his father and Jasper and stared pointedly at the porch. Silence hung for several long minutes, where the only noises that Jasper could hear were the pounding of both the Blacks hearts, Jacob's heavy and hitched breathing, as well as Billy much more even breathing.

"Looks like there's going to be some reworking of some of the terms of the treaty," Billy finally muttered. "I'll have to talk to the others elders about this, and Sam too." Jacob's head snapped up at the mention of the alpha of the La Push pack.

"What do you mean?"

"There are laws, you know, in regards to the process of marking; just like there are laws for imprinting," Billy replied. "It just means that now the treaty omits Jasper; he alone can come and go onto our lands. Other wolves can't attack him, and he will be treated as one of our people; seeing as he's your other half, Jacob. Marking is a little more complicated then imprinting, because unlike imprinting, if one of the two die, then the other dies quickly after. The death of who you imprint on will only cause you immense pain and a loss of purpose of living, but the werewolf in question will survive."

"So you're saying that now my survival and Jasper's are linked?"

"Yes. This sort of thing is very typical of those who have alpha blood in them," Billy wondered how much more the two wanted to know before all of the arrangement were made. He didn't want Jacob to leave, not yet at least. He wanted his son to stay around until he wasn't alive anymore to enjoy his company; besides, he need the help. "But it's still incredibly uncommon."

"... uncommon..." Jacob's voice was a whisper; Jasper would have missed it if it wasn't for his superb hearing. He gave his love's hand a soft squeeze. "What does that make me then? A freak?"

"No, Jacob -"

"You're not a freak." Jasper's voice was hard, but not threatening. He'd already read the feelings of dejection and self-loathing that had flooded through Jacob at the idea of just how... **_different_** he'd become. If no one would accept Jacob for this, he would simply take Jacob and leave. What Billy had said and explained made sense; he'd always felt like something was missing, but because of his empathy, he had never been able to find it.

Alice had been ecstatic and loving when he'd first met her, and the pure strength of her emotions had overwhelmed him, clouding his normally clear judgment. This was why... he'd never thought to look elsewhere for his other half, what he'd been missing all this time.

But he'd found it all now, and he wasn't about to let go.

"You're not a freak Jake, don't ever think you are." He pressed his icy lips against Jacob's temple, a warm feeling of affection flooded from the teen. Jasper felt his heart warm, though it didn't beat, he let his head rest on Jacob's shoulder; waves of contentedness and love rolling off of him and into those around him. Jacob relaxed, his own head resting on Jasper's.

Billy watched the entire interaction silently. In secret, he'd always hoped hat his son would imprint; he'd always thought that Bella was unhealthy for Jacob, mainly because of his mortality. As tough as his son was, Bella needed almost constant emotional and physical attention and care; she was too fragile. If she didn't have the constant reassuring of affection and love that the leech gave her, she'd fall to pieces.

And no matter how Jacob tried, he couldn't do that for her.

Besides, Bella wasn't what Jacob needed.

She could understand, yes, his being a wolf and the fact that there would be practically no secrets when it came to the relationship; practically everything was laid bear for the others to see. There had to be understanding, acceptance, and empathy for the pack. Bella disliked the idea of others knowing things about her relationships that she'd prefer to keep private.

The vampire's hand held Jacobs, and his head was on his shoulder with just the slightest of smiles on his lips. Oh, he had to admit, they did look good together and Jasper seemed, well, he didn't really seem to care about whether or not anyone knew. But it was more then that; there was an understanding and compassionate edge to the leech that he didn't see very much anymore.

Marking. It had seemed so outrageous to him before, despite the fact that he was surrounded by true myths, and unbelievable. Now though, now that he was presented with a real case of it; it brought a lot of things into perspective.

"The others..." Jacob began. "They won't accept this, they already haven't. Leah's accused me of betraying the pack, I can tell that the rest agree."

"Seth doesn't." Billy sighed and took a deep breath; what Jacob said was obviously very true, the other wolves didn't know of marking, and if they hadn't accepted it yet, then they never would. "Go. You'll be safer farther north, find somewhere where the two of you are safe. Stay there. Just... stay in contact, alright?"

"Dad..."

"No, I knew something like this was going to happen. If they can't accept this, then I don't have a choice but to let you go."

_Let you go..._

Jasper spoke up, his voice was tinged with sorrow but was supportive as well, "I... I can't do that to Jake. I can't ask him to give up his life and his family for me, for us. I won't hurt him, if I have to wait or leave or something, then I'll do it; I want to see him happy."

"Jacob... has already outgrown this place. I can see that he needs you, he needs someone stable who will love him and care for him. You're that person, you're the one he needs; has always needed, as unconscious as that desire and need were."

_The one he needs..._

Jacob's hand tightened around Jasper's, he wouldn't let go, he didn't want to, and he didn't believe that he wanted too. So really, his decision had been made before he'd even been aware of it. There was no way that he was going to let go of Jasper.

Letting go meant dying.

"We'll go."

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.  
**

Here it is! The long awaited second installation of _Truth_! Hope you all like it, I don't know... to me it seems to be lacking something, but I won't make a judgment on it until I've finished up the third and final chapter of this story. So please, enjoy and leave me some nice reviews telling me what you think of it.

Anyways, I'm going to finish the twelfth chapter of _Poison_ before I start on the final chapter, so be patient, yes?

Please review!

Twilight.


	3. it's just this world's so far away

**A/N:** This is the last and final installment of my Jasper/Jacob trio _Truth_. For those of you who liked it, I'm glad and I hope that this is a suitable conclusion for you. I can't please everyone, but I hope that it's good enough. There may or may not be something extra to be added to this in the future, but for the time being I'm focusing my attention on my _Poison_ universe. For those interested, you can find them in my lj or on .  
**Title:** Truth  
**Part:** 3/3  
**Rating:** pg13  
**Pairing:** Jasper/Jacob  
**Words:** 2 421 words  
**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, I swear! I in no way own anything that has to do with the _Twilight_series, except owning copies of the books. Meyer makes the cash there, I make zilch.

**. it's just this world's so far away .**  
_I want to shine on you, and always like the dazzling sun  
I will defend you, from all the darkness  
This is the truth from my heart_  
- from **_SHINE_** by L'ArcenCiel

**_Two years later..._**

Absently, Jasper flipped a bit aimlessly through the morning paper as the sun crested over the horizon. He could see a thin ray of sunlight which had filtered in through a crack in the kitchen drapes and a tiny smile pulled at his lips.

_Another string of murders, hm? Looks like the Volturi might be paying Seattle a little visit..._ Jasper set the paper aside and glanced down the hall towards where the bedroom was. His much younger lover was still fast asleep in their bedroom, getting as much rest as he could after the... long night that they'd had the night before.

Don't get him wrong, Jasper enjoyed the rough, adrenaline fueled sex that often followed a successful hunt of one of the many newborns who had been popping up in unusually high amounts lately. They hadn't figured out why this was, neither had really kept in contact really with their respective coven or pack; with the exception of the occasional call from Billy. So really, they had been largely in the dark for the past two years.

Carlisle had called shortly after they had moved into their small apartment, worried over where Jasper had disappeared too. Alice had apparently lost track of him because of his involvement with Jacob, so they had assumed the worst.

_"Alice told me that she'd lost your future. I didn't - we didn't - want to believe that you had been destroyed..."_

He sighed, they had wanted him to come back; but then again, he didn't think that any of them would be rather accepting of his newfound relationship.

Bella especially.

Even though she was now married to his adoptive brother, she still had those lingering feelings of love and attachment to the werewolf; and Jasper knew that there was some selfish part of her that felt like Jacob **_belonged_** to her and only her, that she was the undisputed master of his heart.

She wouldn't take well to the fact that that had changed.

Eventually, the frantic calls from his family had stopped, to the point where Carlisle might call ever five months just to check up on him and make sure that he was still in existence. Really, Jasper wasn't going anywhere for a very long time.

For the time being, Jacob was immune to his venom. They'd found this out by accident. Okay, so it wasn't so much an 'accident' as it was partly both his and Jacob's fault that they had found this out; control was still a bit of a problem of Jasper's. It wasn't completely his fault that during sex one had the disadvantage of losing complete control of themselves.

And Jacob's blood did taste simply **_divine_**.

Not that Jasper got to taste it on a regular basis, but he'd tasted it a few times at least; it made resisting the temptation that any humans could offer him much less potent. He found it much easier to deny the thirst that used to have threatened to overtake him whenever he was in a large crowd of humans; with Jacob around, it was much easier to focus on the heady scent that the werewolf gave off. The humans' fragrances paled in comparison.

"You're certainly up early..."

Snapping back into the real world, a tiny smile creased Jasper's lips as he turned away from the paper to look back at his still sleepy looking werewolf. Jacob was rubbing the last little bit of sleep from his eyes, his sweats that he wore to bed hanging almost scandalously low on his hips.

"Ah, you know me, I can't sit still for too long."

Jacob rolled his eyes as he shoved some bread into the toaster and poured himself some of the coffee that Jasper had already thoughtfully made. Honestly, the vampire had his schedule down after two years of living together, "Yeah, but you're normally at least sitting in the room when I wake up."

"This morning is... different," Jasper frowned. "I just have the feeling that something is going to happen... something big."

After he'd finished breakfast, Jacob poked Jasper in the shoulder; trying to get rid of the pensive air that had settled over the old vampire, "Quit depressing over it. If something happens, it happens."

"Hm, I suppose so..."

"Anyways, I've gotta get to work, otherwise my boss'll be on my case."

"Mm... alright." Jacob grinned and kissed the vampire's cold cheek before dashing back down the hall to shower and change; Jasper merely smiled and rolled his eyes at how energetic his young lover could be. Oh well, he really didn't mind the antics; as long as Jacob was happy, then so was he.

Folding the news paper, Jasper went through the familiar process of tidying up the kitchen. If it was just Jacob on his own, the place would have been a disaster zone by now; Jasper was the only one keeping the place clean.

The bedroom door slammed against the wall with a little more force then could be said to be necessary, and then Jacob was hollering out a goodbye to him before the front door slammed shut behind him.

Running hot water, Jasper started to scrub at the dishes and coffee mug with the sudsy water. As usual, he started to hum tunelessly as he worked; sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he washed both the breakfast dishes and the ones from last night's dinner.

Just as he started to rinse the now clean dishes off, the phone rang. Drying his hands quickly on the nearest dish towel, he reached out and grabbed it off the wall-mounted cradle.

Answering it, "Hello?"

"Jake? Jake listen there's-"

Jasper frowned as he placed the voice, "Jake's not in at the moment; he's at work. Is there something that I need to pass along to him?"

"Oh, um, well..." It was very obvious that Sam felt awkward about talking about whatever it was that he had called to tell Jacob to Jasper; which, to Jasper, made it just all the more suspicious.

"Whatever it is that you need to tell him, you can tell me. He and I don't have any secrets."

"It's just... the short lee-vampire says that she sees the **_Volturi_**-" he spat the word out with such hate that Jasper could very nearly sense it through the phone, "-are intending to pay us a visit to make sure that Isabella has been turned into a good little vampire."

"That's not all, is it?"

"No. She wants to see Jake before they come, to say goodbye or some other shit."

Jasper frowned, true, he did care about Bella; as a sister, but he wasn't too sure on how the entire situation with himself and Jacob would go over with her. Bella had the tendency to overreact when it came to things...

"I'll have to talk it over with Jake, but why are you the one calling and not Billy or Carlisle?"

There was a pregnant pause before Sam responded, "Billy... hasn't been doing so well, caught something out fishing. But doctor Cullen seems to think that he'll make a full recovery."

A brief nod to himself and Jasper finished up the conversation with Sam quickly enough. He hung up the phone and took his head in his hands.

_What are we going to do?_

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Jacob was just finishing up at the book store that he worked at when his cell went off. The blaring noise of some techno-rendered classical piece causing his boss to shoot a dark glare at him. Shrugging, Jacob shoved the last few books onto the shelf before pulling it out and answering it.

"Hey Jazz!"

"Jake..."

Oh, that **_didn't_** sound good... Jacob bit his lip and frowned as he exited the store; Jasper never sounded that pained anymore. Not ever since the two of them had been together.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

"... Sam called. Bella wants to see you before the Volturi come."

He nearly dropped the phone in shock. Bella wanted to see him?! The Volturi?! What the hell was going on?

All of a sudden, Jasper started to gush out most of what Sam had told him over the phone earlier that day, and the pain only started to get worse. And Jacob could understand why.

While he still did love Bella, it wasn't the same as it had been before; what he felt for her was now more like the sort of love you did have for a best friend or for a sister, the romantic aspect of it had really disappeared. In the wake of his feelings for Jasper, his feelings for Bella had gradually dissolved into something that would have made her happy back when they had been friends back in Forks.

"... the Volturi... are going to Forks?"

"To make sure that Bella has become one of us; it was... part of the deal that they made three years ago."

"And she wants to see me **_now_** to say goodbye?! Why the hell couldn't she have done so earlier?!"

"Bella was... really torn apart over her sudden change to our life, or should I say the loss of hers. I don't think that she felt that she had the control to meet you in person; she spent most of the year after we left far from humans somewhere in Alaska. My best guess is... she wants a clean break before embarking on her new life with Edward."

"I don't know if I can face this, face her..."

He could almost feel Jasper's longing to embrace him over the phone, "If you need me to, I can come with you. We will face this together."

"Thank you."

He could hear a soft chuckle, and suddenly his heart felt much warmer and strength washed through him, "Anything, anytime."

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

It had been a long two years since either Jasper or Jacob had set foot in Forks and, not surprisingly, nothing had really changed much. Of course, they weren't actually going into the town itself; instead, they were going to the Cullen family house.

Where Bella was.

The motorcycle had been a sort of present from Edward before Jasper had left, and Jacob didn't mind the vampire's maniac, as Bella would've called it, driving, so they arrived on the outskirts of Forks where the house was in a relatively short amount of time.

Of course, it would have been easier and much faster to simply run the whole way, but Jacob had wanted some time at least to try and think up **_some_** excuse as to where he'd disappeared to and what to tell Bella.

Jasper wasn't the only one worrying over the newborn vampire's reaction.

Skidding a little to stop, the pair stood silently in front of the house, waiting. The front door flew open, and a blur of brown and too pale skin flowed from the front door before slamming into Jacob with a force that nearly hurled the werewolf to the ground.

"Jake! Jake I'm-I'm so sorry!" Bella cried out, and though she'd long since lost the ability to cry years ago, she still looked and felt like she would break down into tears at any moment.

Jacob shot a look at Jasper who shrugged as he pulled off the helmet, which was mostly for show, and tucked it under his arm; Jacob had discarded his the moment that they'd disembarked from the motorcycle.

"Um... hey Bells."

"Where have you been?! I've been... I've been worried and..." She stopped herself and pulled back, pulling herself to her full height; which wasn't all that much, despite the heels she was wearing. "I've been worried, and so has Charlie. You disappeared two years ago and no one's heard from you since!"

"I was... um... in Seattle."

"Billy told everyone that you'd moved out there but-oh, hi Jasper..." Apparently, she hadn't noticed the tall, blond vampire standing off to the side who was looking to the porch of the house.

The rest of the Cullen family had crowded itself onto the porch to watch, perhaps in case Bella lost control of her blood lust and attacked Jacob; or it could be to prevent her from inflicting any harm on the two.

"Hello Bella." Jasper's voice was soft and low, as always.

She looked between the two, a frown on her face, obviously trying to put together everything that she'd seen and was probably drawing conclusions from. Her eyes suddenly widened and her amber eyes immediately fixated on Jacob's; a bit of torment mixed in with the realization.

"You two... ran away... together?!"

Silence hung in the air for a little, then...

"Um, well I guess you could put it that way, but that's not really it..." Jacob sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, unable to meet Bella's rather unnerving stare. He was so used to the warm chocolate that the blazing gold unsettled Jacob a little; even though he looked into eyes like those on a rather regular basis, and loved them.

"... I don't know Jake... I don't really know anymore..." Bella murmured. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, ever since you disappeared, and I thought that... I could actually let you go, that it would be easy to do. I've gotten what I wanted, but now..."

Her voice faded. Jacob looked away, wordlessly holding his hand out to Jasper, who took it in his own; offering his own silent support to his werewolf. A wave of affection and love washed over Jacob, giving him strength.

"Yeah, I know it's not easy to say goodbye, but I think that it's about time that you and I start letting go of what could have been and start living."

Bella looked between the two of them, her eyes locking on their interlocked hands. "I want too, you don't know how much I do... it's just..."

"Bells, you've found your perfect match in this twisted world, and I've found mine. I gave up on you two years ago, and I've moved on. You have an eternity in front of you, you can't spend it pining over me. That'll just make him miserable."

Damn, why did it still hurt to say Edward's name? He had lost out with Bella to him and for the most part the scars from that loss had healed over; he had someone who completed him in every single way.

It was... better this way.

Seeming to steel herself, Bella nodded, as if confirming something to herself, "Yes... I'm sorry that I couldn't keep control of myself... as long as you're happy, then I can't be selfish and try to take that away."

Once again, she stood up straight, looking Jacob in the eye and smiled, really smiled.

"Friends?"

"Friends."

The two best friends turned almost lovers smiled at each other as the ones who they'd completely given their hearts to stepped up beside them and took their hands. It was one long eternity in front of them, but they'd make it through.

Somehow.

**FIN.**

Um, comment or review please? I'm sorry if the ending sounded cheesy, but I was sort of in a rush to finish this... I kept getting distracted. I'm starting to study history independently on my own, so that means that I have to find the books on my own.

Gosh, I sure hope the libraries carry books on what I'm studying... the internet really isn't the most reliable thing out there.

Twilight.


End file.
